Why Does My Arugula Have Holes?

I have five arugula plants. Every single arugula plant looks like someone took a pin and poked holes in it.

I did a quick search on one of the best resources for gardening out there, and found that the likely culprit is flea beetles. 

Arugula with holes in it

Interestingly though, it appears that we can still eat the holey arugula. This blog post talks about a farmers market vendor who sticks with her plan to not treat her plants chemically. When her potential customers ask why her arugula has holes, she replies that the damage does not affect the arugula's flavor. In fact, her arugula is probably much better from a taste perspective than most grocery store arugula, which was treated so it would look perfect in the grocery store aisle. Another forum post I found said if you cook the arugula the holes actually disappear.

Take a blog from the growveg.com website, where I keep my garden plans:

Flea beetles do mar the leaves of arugula grown as a companion crop to spring onions, but the holes magically disappear when the leaves are cooked. This is the destiny of my big spring crop of arugula grown in the onion patch. Washed, chopped and steamed, the tender greens form the foundation for arugula recipes such as my favorite, arugula pesto.

I've not yet decided if I'll be so brave! I probably will!

In the meantime I'm going to research floating row covers like these.